Porn Star Gives Parents ‘the Talk’ About Explaining Sex to Their Kids Before Porn Does

Nine out of 10 children are exposed to hardcore pornography by the age of 11, according to Novus Report research, and it’s not doing them any favors in terms of educating them about real-life, non-broadcast sexuality.

So, ad agency Mistress is stepping up with a new PSA campaign called “Give the Talk,” in which porn star Monique Alexander encourages parents to talk to their kids about sex—before the porn industry, and its fantasyland of fakery, gets to them first.

The campaign, created by Celine Faledam and Rachel Guest, a pair of Mistress advertising creatives, launches today to coincide with International Children’s Day. All materials, including the video below, point to givethetalk.com, which has resources for how to talk to children about the awkward subject.

The site also links to Amaze.org, a nonprofit partnership that aims to make sex ed engaging, informative and less weird for young adolescents.

“We’re not here to demonize porn, but it’s clear the content is more accessible and increasingly graphic and even violent, especially toward women,” says Guest. “It’s disturbing when you think about hardcore online porn being a 9-year-old’s first exposure to sex. A lot of parents don’t realize we need to start the conversation that young. A simple chat from parent to child can give kids the ability to critique the content they’re inevitably going to see.”

“Our mission is that every parent see this initiative and feel empowered and equipped to talk to their child,” adds Faledam. “Because we believe the next generation deserves to make more informed decisions about sex so that they can have healthy, respectful and happy sexual experiences.”

“If your children know you’re a reliable resource on sex and that porn does not depict sex in the real world, then they will come to you with questions or if they stumble upon porn online or hear a rumor from friends,” says Nicole Cushman, executive director of Answer, one of the organizations behind Amaze. “We owe it to our children to provide the information and guidance they need.”

Tim Nudd

@nudd

Tim Nudd is a former creative editor of Adweek.